


Dust in the Wind

by Memefricker69



Category: Ultraman Zero - Fandom, ウルトラシリーズ | Ultra Series
Genre: Implied/Referenced Suicide, Other, Ow the Edge, Zero gets stranded in some shitty dimension and meets...himself???, angst ensues, being stuck in a practically invincible body together with your worst enemy is hard, especially when you're stuck like this for like a million years, like seriously ow, or a series of very unsuccessful attempts anyway, really hard, yes i named this fic Dust in the Wind because of a fucking meme song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 06:19:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7255918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Memefricker69/pseuds/Memefricker69
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Kiddo…” The stranger wearily lifted his head, dust flaking off the cracked, rusted Sluggers adorning it. <br/> “You’re 20 000 years too late to save me!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dust in the Wind

As Zero slowly comes to, the first thing he notices is dust. Lots of dust. The air is so saturated with it it feels like he’s breathing in molasses.  The stuff sticks to the Ultra’s body in a thick, chalky layer, clouds his eyes, clogs his throat, making him cough. Swearing under his breath, Zero pulls himself to his feet, shaking the dust off his face like a wet dog. A barren wasteland, white with dust that rains down from the bleak gray sky, stretches as far as the eye can see. His comrades are scattered a few steps away in various states of discomfort, having just regained their consciousness as well. Glenfire is swearing up a storm, complaining that the dust is smothering his flames. Mirror Knight is dazedly leaning on a very dusty, very miffed Jean Bot who appears to be stuck in a kneeling position.

“Jean Bot!” Jean Nine rasps pitifully as he reaches out with a shaky hand, optics flickering, “Brother! Help me! This dust is clogging my main engine and I can’t move!”

“I would if I could, but I’m in the same situation!” Bot replies, his annoyance growing with each passing second.

“Hey Zero-chan, mind lending a hand? I think the fucking chicken nuggets are dying!” Glen yells, violently dusting himself off.

 “GLENFIRE YOU UNCULTURED SWINE!” Bot shrieks, “FOR THE LAST TIME, MY NAME IS NEITHER “GRILLED CHICKEN” NOR “CHICKEN NUGGET” AND I SWEAR TO GOD AS SOON AS I’M ABLE TO MOVE AGAIN I’M GONNA ASDSFLF,OPL;CKJNDF....” his rant is interrupted as the dust clogs his voicebox, reducing him to really angry bursts of static.

“Woah woah woah cool it there bucko!” Glen yelped, “Don’t blow a gasket and die! That’s like, the lamest way to go ever!”

“Guys, this is serious!” Mirror Knight intervenes, having finally regained his bearings and now meticulously cleaning Moroboshi-kun with a feather duster, “This dust could seriously harm the Jean Brothers if we don’t get it off!”

Glen deflates like a balloon.

The following hour was spent shoveling dust off the robots. At some moment during that time a cold, biting wind blew over the small group, bringing with it a fresh dust cloud. When the dust more or less cleared, it was revealed that the flames on Glenfire’s head have been completely extinguished. The sight of a bald Glenfire sent Zero into such an intense laughing fit that he would’ve probably gotten a new pair of abs on his belly had Glen not interrupted him by taking him to suplex city. As Glen frantically ran around screaming and lamenting the loss of his fiery mane and Bot used his newfound mobility to snap excessive amounts of bald Glenfire photos for later revenge, Zero couldn’t help but think how blessed he was to have met such a precious team of dorks and doofuses.

Still, with the Aegis still recharging and no change of scenery in sight, being stuck in some weird dusty wasteland was becoming unnerving. Finally bored with dunking on Glenfire and making dust angels on the ground, Zero decided to investigate his surroundings.

But to his great unease, the dust-filled grey atmosphere wouldn’t end. Zero shuddered involuntarily. There was something really creepy about this. Even the biggest gas giant’s atmosphere had its limits. But here...No matter how far he flew upwards, he still couldn’t see the stars. Could it be that there is nothing but dust in this whole universe? That thought sent shivers down the Ultra’s spine. A desolate dimension where nothing exists but dust and frigid winds. What kind of disaster could’ve caused this? Even imagining something like that was horrifying.

_“Zero!”_

That voice…What the hell?

_“Zero!”_

There it is again! In this desolate wasteland, somebody is calling him.

A survivor?

Forcing the dreary thoughts to the back of his mind, Zero flew in the direction of the voice. Bursting through a thick cloud of dust, he saw a massive shard of rock suspended in the air. An asteroid, perhaps? Or the remnants of a planet?

_“Zero!”_ The voice grew closer than ever.

“I’m coming!” Zero yelled, landing onto the surface of the planetoid, “Hang in there! I’m coming to save you!”

A bitter chuckle echoed across the wasteland.

_“Save me, huh?”_

A lanky humanoid figure sat a few meters away, leaning tiredly against a rock.

_“Kiddo…”_ The stranger wearily lifted his head, dust flaking off the cracked, rusted Sluggers adorning it.

_“You’re 20 000 years too late to save me!”_

Zero gasped in shock.

The Other Zero let out a raspy sigh. Coated with dust, he looked old and withered, as though every last bit of life had been sucked out of him. It didn’t seem like he could even move anymore, his muscles atrophied to the point of making him look mummified. But that was far from the most horrifying thing about him.

The Other Zero was, for lack of better words, glitching, the color scheme of his body rapidly flashing between red-blue and crimson-black.

Zero recoiled in horror, a scream escaping his throat as realization dawned on him.

“No need to be scared, kid.” Other Zero chuckled hoarsely, “As long as _I_ ’m still fighting, _we_ cannot harm anyone!”

“You…” Zero was shaking all over now, his heart going into overdrive underneath his Color Timer, “Just how long…Have you been fighting for?”

Other Zero smiled sadly, meeting Zero’s eyes with his dim, glazed stare.

“It has certainly been quite a while. So long, in fact, that I lost count of the millenia.” One skeletal hand shakily reached out to Zero, its fingers faintly brushing against his cheek, “My, my…How young, cute and naiive I was back then…”

Normally he would’ve flinched back, but now the young Ultra found himself unable to move, frozen on the spot by the excruciating horror and sadness welling up inside his chest.

“As you can probably tell, this is the universe where I was unable to achieve the Shining Mode on that day…” the old Ultraman continued, patting his trembling younger self on the head in a feeble attempt of comfort.

“After the Ultimate Force Zero, the Land of Light was next… With mine and Belial’s powers combined together, we were unstoppable. Not even King could stand in our way, let alone anyone else. One by one everyone was struck down by our hands. The Mother and Father of Ultra…Zoffy…Ultraman…Jack...Ace…Taro…Master Leo…Astra…Dad… They all tried their best to stop us, but all they achieved was making their own deaths more brutal. After the Land of Light fell, our rampage continued. Belial reveled in the destruction we wrought wherever we went. And while he commanded this body to end trillions of innocent lives, I lay dormant in the depths of our shared consciousness. Months, years passed. Belial took his time destroying this universe, savoring its death throes. Finally, it was reduced to the way it is now. Literally ground to dust. But then, one day…I suddenly got tired of giving up. I began to struggle against Belial’s consciousness with everything I had. I couldn’t save this universe, I had no way of fixing the damage we had already done, but I figured that if I could just stall him, I could prevent or at least delay the destruction or conquest of other worlds. All I had to do was keep fighting… and keep hoping…”

The old Ultra’s voice broke, his dusty cheeks wet with tears. His skeletal hands grabbed Zero’s shoulders, squeezing them with a desperate, wiry strength.

“It’s been such a long, hard battle…” Other Zero whispered brokenly, his flickering intensifying, “I’m so tired…My strength is about to give out…That’s why I’ve summoned you here, alternate universe me. To end this farce once and for all!”

“W-what? What are you saying?”

“Destroy us, Zero.” There was a strange reverb in Other Zero’s voice, as though two separate voices had joined into one, “Set me free.”

Zero’s vision swam, his insides lurching. To think that back then, if a miracle hadn’t occurred, if he hadn’t achieved his Shining Form…He would’ve ended up like this…Destroying an entire universe with his own hands…Fighting Belial in his mind for millennia on end…And finally, being reduced to a withered husk that desires nothing but death…

“Hurry up…Please…” Other Zero seemed to be getting weaker with each passing moment, “I can’t do this myself…Trust me…I’ve tried…This body is too powerful…Only you…Only your Shining Form can destroy us…”

“Do you…Really think this is the only choice?” Zero said quietly. His body was shaking, his hands clenched into fists so hard lightblood was seeping from between his fingers. Even so, a golden glow enveloped his frame as he shifted into his Shining Form.

“Please…do it...” Other Zero whispered.

Zero screamed, swinging his fist at his alternate self.

With a weary smile, the old warrior lowered his head.

After all those years he was finally about to find peace…

Wait…

Why wasn’t he dead yet…

That stupid kid…

He had stopped his fist millimeters away from his face. Dammit, why?

“You fucking idiot…” Zero rasped over the lump in his throat, “Like hell I’m gonna kill you…”

His other arm was already raised high over his head, a sphere of vibrant energy gathering over it.

“Shining Star Drive!”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

“I’m saving you, dumbass! I’m gonna turn back this universe’s time…Back to the day when Belial first possessed you…Then the two of us will defeat him together! You…Your Ultimate Force…Dad…Master Leo… Everyone will be saved!”

As the dusty grey skies spun above him, Other Zero threw his head back and howled with hysterical laughter, tears streaming down his face.

“Turn back time all the way to that day? Save everyone? Bwahahahahaha…Young me sure was a great comedian! Do you really think you can turn back time by hundreds of thousands of years when last time you used Shining Star Drive you turned it back by a few hours and then collapsed?”

“Shut the fuck up and let me save you!”

“At this rate your body will burn out and you will die, dumbass!”

“SHUT THE FUCK U~hurk…” Lightblood spurted from Zero’s mouth, but he didn’t relent.

“See? You haven’t even turned back a single day, and your body already can’t take it! Please, stop! I don’t want to cause any more innocent lives to be lost!” Other Zero sobbed, “I have seen this exact same scenario so many times, I know what I’m talking about when I say I cannot be saved anymore!”

“W-what?”

“Do you really think you’re the first Zero to have ended up in this universe and tried to save me? Please…Don’t throw away your life so pointlessly…ZeEEERoooooOOOoo….” His voice fading into a gurgling growl, Other Zero’s hand suddenly shot out, jagged black claws carving five deep gashes into Zero’s chest.

Crying out in pain, Zero doubled over, his control over Shining Star Drive failing. Desperately clutching his clawed right hand, Other Zero panted weakly, his withered body shaking.

“I’m so sorry…Looks like my control is slipping for good… _He_ is about to take over this body any second now…And then you will be killed…Your friends will be killed…Please…Kill me now…This may be your last chance…”

“Dammit…” Zero’s voice shook as he pulled himself to his feet, “There really isn’t any other way, is it?”

“ZeeEEEEEEroOOOOOOOO…” Other Zero groaned. The flickering had stopped. He had completely reverted to Zero Darkness.

Zero couldn’t take it anymore. His consciousness was flooded by the memories of that day. His hands, stained with the blood of his friends. Their dying screams. For his alternate self to have endured that for millenia…No…That was too much. Too much for both of them.

“DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!!! SHINING WIDE ZERO SHOT!!!”

The brilliant beam slammed into Zero Darkness. Belial’s dying howl echoed in Zero’s ears as the dark Ultra exploded. Cracks ran across the fabric of space-time around Zero. The energy released by Other Zero and Belial’s destruction was shattering the remnants of this universe.

“Thank you.” Whispered the cold dusty wind.

And everything turned a blinding white.

* * *

 

"Zero!"

"Zero, wake up!"

"Wake the fuck up, ya dingus!"

"Please wake up!"

"Pii pii!"

He is sprawled on the crater-riddled surface of some dwarf planet, his head spinning and his limbs feeling like they are full of lead.

A dream?

No. The coating of dust on his body is real. The stinging pain in his chest is real. The worried looks on his comrades' faces are real.

"Just what the fuck were you thinking, running off on your own like that?" Glen is the first one to break the silence.

"We were lucky to have all ended up in the same universe when that one suddenly collapsed. Just think about it! We could've all been scattered across different worlds!" the anxiety in Mirror Knight's voice would probably be enough to make Belial himself feel guilty.

"We were looking for you all over the place, but it just wouldn't end!" Jean Nine clings to Bot in distress, his optics flickering. 

"Shit, sorry guys..." Zero mutters. To think that going off to explore that place out of sheer boredom had lead to him killing a fusion of himself and Belial and indirectly causing the destruction of an entire universe...

"Eh, forget it. We've all done a lot of stupid things today. The only thing that counts is that we all made it out alive and okay."  

"Uncultured swine, your head flames...They still haven't returned..." Jean Bot deadpans.

"YIKES!!! I'M NOT OKAY I'M NOT OKAY!!!"

"Maybe I could use my Jean Buster to re-ignite your head?"

"FUCK YOU, CHICKEN NUGGET JR!"

"Sheesh, I was just offering to help!"

"GUYS! GUYS!" It's time for Zero to be the responsible leader, "Let's start with the fact that we don't know where the shittening fuck we are! We can all roast each other in peace after we've gotten back to the Mighty Base!"

Filled with enthusiasm once again, he jumps to his feet, completely forgetting about the after-effects of entering Shining Mode.

His legs stubbornly refuse to hold him up.

Well, shit. 

Thankfully, the Ultimate Force are there to catch him as he falls over.

"Geez, Zero-chan! Not again! That's like the third time this month!" 

"You should take care of your health more." 

"Brother, why do organic beings have a tendency to collapse like this?"

"They don't. That's just our Zero."

"Woah, sorry guys!" Zero laughs.

"Don't worry! After all, we'll always be there to catch you!" 

Glen's heat...The sharp angles and elegant curves of Mirror's body...The soft whirring of the Jean Brothers' power cores...Being close to them makes Zero so happy, he wants to stay like this forever... 

"Hey...Zero-chan..." Glen suddenly says, concern evident in his voice, "Are you ok?"

"Eh?" 

Something is tickling his face. How annoying. He reaches up to wipe it off. 

Wait a second...It's wet?

Tears?

He's crying?

But why?

"Ah, this? Heh, it's nothing. Probably just my eyes getting irritated from all the dust." he laughs. Oh, wait. He's not laughing anymore. Since when did his laughter turn into sobs? What the fuck?

"Are you ok, Zero? What happened?" 

"Please don't cry. We're here for you."

"We'll always be here for you."

They will always be there for him, huh?

Honestly, he won't be surprised if they will.

After all, he's the Zero who lucked out, living in a universe that lucked out.

Oh.

So that's why he's crying.

 

 


End file.
